Tubular valve



June 27, 1961 C. B LANCHETT TUBULAR VALVE Filed Jan. 2, 1959 United States Patent 2,989,961 ULAR VALVE Carl Blanchett, New York, N.Y. (Warren Hills Apt. 28 A, Gail Drive, Nyack, N.Y.) Filed Jan. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 784,597 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-2S2) This invention relates to nipples, and has for its principal object the production of an improved nipple as a result of having a new large capacity air valve which opens when suction is applied to the nipple, permitting adequate amounts of air to enter the nursing bottle, and which closes efiectively when suction is released, preventing the contents of the bottle from leaking out.

A further object of this invention is to provide a nipple without pin holes, vents, grooves, or ridges in the flange, or base of the nipple, which are prone to leakage. A corollary of this object is the elimination of the necessity of adjusting the tension on the screw cap which also results in leakage frequently.

Another object of this invention is to provide a nipple with openings for air intake to the valve, which are unobstructed by the babys mouth when in use.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric view of the valve in the closed position.

FIGURE 2 is an isometric view of the valve in the open position; the path of air is indicated by arrows.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of the improved nipple.

FIGURE 4 is a front view of the nipple showing the valve by dotted lines with recessed air intakes.

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the nipple showing the valve on end.

FIGURE 6 is a bottom view of the nipple with a cutaway section of the base showing the valve openings.

FIGURE 7 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a modified form of the nipple showing air intakes displaced far laterally.

By referring to the drawing, it will be seen that 1 designates the valve which consists of a tube of an elastic material such as rubber equipped with a valve aperture 2 which is a longitudinal slit placed in the mid-position. The beveled ends 3 serve as the air intakes. The valve is an integral part of the nipple 4 and is placed through the nipple from side to side above the base 5 near the neck 6 which engages with the retaining cap. The ends of the valve '3 are placed in an annular beveled recession 7 below a shoulder 8 as shown in FIGURES 4, 5 and 6. This arrangement keeps the air intakes clear of the babys mouth. The valve aperture 2 is directed toward the base of the nipple as shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. FIGURE 7 shows a modification of the improved nipple for use with the extra-wide nursing bottles. Here the intakes are free of the infants month by virtue of increased diameter and are therefore flush with the wide part of the body of the nipple. It be noticed that there are no pin holes, grooves, ridges, or vents in the flange 5 as shown in FIGURES 1 and 6. The sucking opening 9 is shown as a cross cut in FIGURE 3 but may consist of an I cut, a Y cut or of a single hole or of multiple holes. The

h Patented June 27, 1961 ICC '2- various cuts are preferable to the holes because they do not leak when the nursing unit is turned upside down. Neither do they become plugged.

The principle of operation of this valve is as follows: When the infant sucks through the sucking opening 9 the pressure within the bottle is decreased relative to atmospheric pressure. When the pressure difference is great enough to overcome the natural resiliency of the valve, the aperture 2 opens as shown in FIGURE 2, permitting external air to rush through the ends of the tube and through the valve aperture into the bottle, as shown by the arrows in FIGURES 2 and 7. When the infant stops sucking and the pressure differential lessens, the natural resiliency of the tube snaps the valve aperture shut preventing leakage. 'Ihe valve in the closed position is illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 6.

Thus, it will be seen that a more eflicient nipple has been provided which contains a new effective air valve. In particular, the advantages and conveniences of this air valve in a baby nipple are mainly:

(1) The size of the valve aperture allows a larger volume of air to flow into the bottle in proportion to the infants sucking effort than the old pin holes, vents, ridges and grooves.

(2) The valve has a more positive and eflective closing action which prevents leakage.

(3) The valve does not become plugged even by the coarsest formula.

(4) No loosening or adjusting of the retaining screw cap which formerly caused leakage, is necessary.

(5) The valve is easily cleaned with soap and water. A pipe cleaner or small brush may be run through it to satisfy the most meticulous.

(6) The valve does not in any way interfere with sterilization or with transportation of the nursing unit when using the sealing disc.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in construction may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention so long as such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A nursing nipple cimprising a hollow flat annular flange adapted to engage the bottle mouth, a hollow outwardly expanded beveled portion extending from said base portion, a hollow inwardly decreased body portion extending from said beveled portion, a hollow terminally rounded feeding tip extending from said body portion; an air valve comprising a resilient tube, valve edges defined by a normally closed slit in said tube, air inlets to said valve defined by the ends of said tube, said inlets being installed into said beveled portion so as to locate the valve crosswise to the nipple, said beveled portion functioning to keep the inlets clear of the babys mouth when nursing and said valve functioning by opening when suction is created within the bottle admitting external air through the air inlets, tube, and valve edges into the bottle and closing preventing leakage by coaptation when the infant stops sucking.

2. A nursing nipple comprising a hollow base portion adapted to engage the mouth of a nursing bottle, a hollow inwardly decreased intermediate body portion attached to said base portion and a terminally rounded feeding tip portion attached to said body portion; an air valve comp n a resilierlct1 i edges defiged l y a g algy References Cited in the file of this patent closed slit in sai tu e, air i ets to sai va ve de ed y the ends of said tube, said inlets being installed trans- UNITED STATES PATENTS versely into the body portion of said nipple, said valve 815,435 Knauif Mar. 20, 1906 edges functioning to open and close according to pres- 5 1,918,633 Carstensen July 18, 1933 sure differences and inherent resiliency of the material 2,191,458 Duden Feb. 27, 1940 to admit air through the inlets, tube, and valve edges, 2,238,828 Schmid Apr. 15, 1941 when suction is created Within the bottle by the infant, 2,321,236 Parkin June 8, 1943 and to prevent leakage by'coaptation when suction is 2,582,950 Alstadt et a1. Jan. 22, 1952 released. 10 2,672,870 Alstadt et al Mar. 23, 1954 i l l l l l l 

